The latest weather-related conspiracy theory to take hold in the United States claims that the fog blanketing large parts of the country contains chemicals and is making people sick.
Dubbed Fogvid-24 by some, the fog has been affecting large swathes of the country for the last few weeks. And, say many social media users, it's giving them symptoms including coughing, irritated eyes, sore throats and fatigue.
In one TikTok video that's received tens of thousands of views, David Bamber says it tastes and smells like fireworks.
"The taste of the air, the only word I can think of is toxic. It’s super weird and it’s kind of worrying me a little bit," he says. "I’m 41, I’ve been through fog and this is something different... It smells like chemicals going down my throat when I breathe."
Some are drawing wild conclusions from the phenomenon, for example claiming that the fog — which many say contains small particles — is “smart dust,” tiny wireless devices designed to collect and transmit data.
On X, Erin Elizabeth Health Nut News takes this one further, linking the fog with Morgellon’s — a belief held by many, but unsupported by any evidence, that their skin is infested with parasites.
"This is a Morgellon’s smart dust infecting people‘s skin- it’s identical to the video. I shared here in N Florida of the ‘fog’ that got 4.5M views," she says. "When I was a kid spin magazine did an article that MDs tested the fibers. They weren’t from this planet."
Many are linking the fog with recent sightings of UFOs, drones or orbs — most of which are readily explainable as aircraft or other perfectly ordinary events — and some are even suggesting that it consists of alien spores.
Fog, though, is hardly an unusual phenomenon at this time of year, and when it's freezing, it can consist of tiny ice particles. Respiratory illnesses are common in winter, too, and even the purest water vapor can make symptoms worse.
Meanwhile, there are, of course reasons why the fog might smell of chemicals. Fog can trap pollutants, as it famously did in the U.K.'s Great Smog of 1952. If bad enough, this can lead to or exacerbate respiratory illnesses — no nefarious “Fogvid-24” origins required.